Lakers drained and pained but championship trained. (NBA).

The Lakers' itinerary for last Saturday called for a practice at the team facility in El Segundo, Calif., followed by a flight to Sacramento for the decisive Game 7 in the Western Conference finals. The flight was a brief chance to allow some rest for Lakers behemoth Shaquille O'Neal, who logged 41 minutes per game in the conference finals despite playing with two bad ankles, a bum toe, a sore wrist and a body that had been smacked around by a bevy of Sacramento defenders over the last two weeks. It was a chance for O'Neal's co-star, Kobe Bryant, to recuperate from a draining performance in Game 6, in which he played 44 minutes, took 20 shots and scored 31 points.

One day later, after 15 days and seven games of thrilling finishes, physical thumping on the floor, verbal jousting off it, countless defensive flops and one rancid bacon cheeseburger, the Lakers outlasted the Kings and reached The Finals for the third consecutive season. In the process, the Lakers and Kings spawned something that has been missing in the NBA's recent seasons--a true rivalry founded not only on parity of competition and a contrast of styles but on personal enmity ...